


The Golden Man

by soraniknatu



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Mind Control, Minor Character Death, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-23
Updated: 2013-12-23
Packaged: 2018-01-05 16:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1096260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soraniknatu/pseuds/soraniknatu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>Avengers</em> AU. Set 20 years after the events of<em> The Avengers</em>, the people of Earth live in constant fear of their ruler that they dare not even refer to him by his true name.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Golden Man

Izzy had been a toddler when her father had escaped the city during The Triumph of New York. He used to tell her stories about the soldiers of the Golden Man’s army pouring out of a crack in the sky in such numbers that they blocked out the sun. That was in the days when the soldiers were creatures from another world and not people stolen from the settlements.

No one ever referred to The Golden Man by his true name. His power was so great that some feared even saying his name would summon him. Not that the new name kept him away; The Golden Man would visit each settlement to demand tribute from each population. Izzy had lived on her settlement her whole life and her home usually provided the Golden Man’s army with food as their tribute.

Earlier that day, Izzy had seen people being torn from their homes and dragged off by soldiers in gold and green. She hid in a nearby alley, peeking around the corner. A solider took his helmet off after they had loaded the last person onto their truck. His sweaty face turned towards her but he didn’t appear to see her. His eyes were a cloudy white blue and unseeing. She turned and ran down the alley.

Her father hadn’t been at home when she arrived and she knew why when the bell in the center of the settlement started to ring. The population gathered near the bell tower to greet The Golden Man during his visits. When Izzy arrived, she saw a circle of soldiers haloed by the population of the settlement. The people she had seen taken earlier were seated within the soldier circle.

She stayed near the back of the crowd, scanning for her father. She found him finishing the preparation of the tribute with the other farmers near the bell tower.

His eyes brightened and he smiled widely when he saw her approach. He walked up to meet her. His dark hair was dusted with grey and he looked older than he was. The whole settlement did.

He took her hand in his work calloused one and kissed her on the cheek. He was about to speak when all attention turned to the center of the soldier circle. The soldiers raised their weapons towards the surrounding crowd as the Golden Man materialized. The crowd fell to their knees, heads down. Izzy held tightly to her father’s hand.

“My people,” The Golden Man began, his voice unnaturally loud due to magic. “I will not be requiring your usual tribute.”

Izzy kept her head down but heard murmuring in the crowd.

“But I will require your best men and women to join the ranks of my Army. So, come forward.”

Izzy dared to peek up and saw the Golden Man pacing, waiting for movement from the crowd. He turned to one soldier (the Major she assumed) and nodded.

A few soldiers broke away from their circle and moved into the crowd, taking people by the arm and dragging them towards The Golden Man. Izzy saw women putting their hands to their mouths to stifle their cries.

The Golden Man was examining the recruits. His voice wasn’t as loud as when he was addressing the crowd but she could still hear him after he looked away from one woman in the group and addressed The Major,

“Unsuitable.”

The gunshot made Izzy jump and her father held her hand tighter. The Major had fired the shot and he tailed the Golden Man, prepared to shoot again.

A soldier approached Izzy and her father. With his visor down, she couldn’t tell who he was looking at until he went to grab for her father.

Izzy thought someone else had cried out but she realized it had been her. She pushed the soldier’s hand away and rose to her feet to stand in front of him.

“You can’t take him!”

The soldier tried to prod her away with the side of his rifle but she pushed it away. He took a step back and pointed the rifle at her.

She wanted to shut her eyes tight but she couldn’t move.

She gasped when the soldier was blasted away from her by a burst of blue energy. He landed in the food tribute 30 yards away.

The Golden Man prodded kneeling people out of his way with his scepter as he moved towards her. The Major was at his side. Izzy’s father tugged at her hand and she could hear him pleading, “Kneel down. Please.” Her free hand curled into a fist and she pressed it tightly to her thigh.

_I am not afraid_ she told herself.  _They will not take my father_ .

Years of fealty made her unable to look The Golden Man in the eye. As he stopped in front of her, she kept her eyes on his breastplate: black with a golden V across the chest. She had never been this close to him. She could feel the aura of his armour as it buzzed with potential energy.

The Major spoke, “What is your order, sir?”

The Golden man was so close she could feel his breath on her hair, “Take the old man.”

“No!” Izzy brushed against the Golden Man, making him step back as she moved to stand between The Major and her father. The Major pointed his rifle at her and she was certain she was dead.

“Kneel to your King, girl.”

“You will not take my father!” She screamed at him. The quiet that followed pressed against her ears and she could feel all eyes on her.

“Please sir, don’t hurt my daughter!” Her father pleaded. “I’ll go…”

“No!” She cut him off.

“Enough,” The Golden Man ordered. “Take them both.”

Izzy moved before he finished and took the Major by surprise. She shoved the tip of the rifle away and tried to pry it from the Major’s hands. She heard The Golden Man laughing and he pushed the Major away with his scepter as Izzy’s father pulled her back towards him.

The Major tossed his helmet away in anger and it clattered at Izzy’s feet. He was the cloudy-eyed man she had seen earlier. He stared at her like he was going to relish the moment when he was told he could fire on her.

“What is your name?” The Golden Man asked, lifting Izzy’s head up to look at him with the tip of his scepter.

Her throat was dry as she swallowed the lump that rose after he had addressed her. He moved the scepter away and she felt like she could breathe again. There was a gem on the end of the scepter that glowed brightly, casting light on the Golden Man’s face. Looking into his eyes make her feel cold.

_I’m not afraid._

“Izzy,” She answered quietly. She dropped her head so she didn’t look at him.

“Izzy?” He said her name like it was the punch line of a joke he couldn’t get through without laughing.

She could feel her anger boiling inside her. Her mother had given Izzy her nickname. She had died when her and her father were escaping the Triumph of New York.

“Her name is Isabelle,” She heard her father say. “Please. Please. Please, sir. Don’t hurt her. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

“Yes, I do,” She said, her anger outweighing her fear.

“Oh, I know,” The Golden Man purred. She could hear the smile in his voice. “I love reckless bravery, Isabelle. I could use you in my army.”

She was trembling but she managed to find the courage to look him in the eye,

“I’d rather die than be in your army.”

She heard the crowd talking all at once. They quieted quickly as the soldiers raised their weapons. The Golden Man’s smile faded.

She wanted to look away from him but she wouldn’t. When she died, she wanted to look him in the eye when it happened.

She almost fell over her father when she backed away from The Golden Man as he closed the distance between them.

“You’re trembling, Isabelle,” He reached around and took her hand away from her father’s. His hand was soft, the hand of a person who had never grown his own food or fetched his own water.

He led her away from her father and his hand moved up her arm to rub her skin like he was trying to warm her.

He smiled again and fingertips slid across her skin as he backed away.

She thought for a moment that maybe he had grown tired of her. Maybe he would have the Major beat the hell out of her and they would leave with the food tribute. Maybe they wouldn’t take anyone else.

“Let me warm your heart,” The tip of the scepter pierced her chest and she was too surprised to cry out. Her father screamed and she felt his hand take hers before it was gone again. The Major had knocked him away.

The Golden Man’s smile unnerved her. It reminded her of storm clouds gathering on a beautiful day. He slid the scepter in further and she felt the pulse of the gem. Its essence filled her body with each beat of her heart. It spilled over her head like a wave, drowning her and she couldn’t speak.

The gem flooded her eyes last, blacking out everything.

In the darkness, someone was in there with her.

**You are mine.**

_Who are you?_

**Your King. You are under my control now.**

_You killed my mother_ . 

**And…?  
**

_I’d rather die_ _than obey you_ .

**Oh, Isabelle. Or is it Izzy? Was that your mother’s nickname for you?**

_Shut up_ . 

**There are some things worse than death. And I think you need to learn that lesson.**

_This is my body._

**Not anymore.**

Her vision cleared and she was aware of her surroundings though she felt like she observing things through a window. The Golden Man ( **I hate that name)** pulled the scepter free from her, a wicked look on his face as he turned to look at the crowd.

Her eyes moved on their own as they followed The Golden Man’s ( **My name is King Loki)** gaze.

The crowd was gawking at her.

“It is time for my newest soldier to prove her loyalty.” King Loki turned to her. “My dear. I want you to kill your father.”

_What? No! You can’t make me!_

He handed her a small silver blade, shaped like a large arrowhead. She was aware that she was holding it but it didn’t feel like it was her own hand.

Her father kneeled next to the Major a few steps away. The Major had his helmet back on and she saw her reflection for a second in his visor as she passed. Her eyes were cloudy blue and unseeing to all except the goal she had been given. Her father had a gash on his head from being hit with a rifle. He stared at her like a dumb animal.

“Isabelle…” He said.

_Why are you doing this?!_

**Because it’s fun.**

Izzy took a fistful of her father’s hair, pulled his head back and slit his throat.

_NO!_

“I want you all to understand!” King Loki said, his voice loud so everyone would hear. “No matter how brave you think you are, you will always kneel to me. Let this girl be a lesson to you.”

The gem of the scepter pulsed and her body was her own again. She let go of her father’s hair and he fell forward. The blood on her hand burnt her like acid. She backed away, dropping the knife. She saw herself again in the Major’s visor and her eyes were brown and seeing.

She looked at her father, blood bubbled from his mouth as he died in front of her.

Izzy felt The Golden Man staring at her but she wouldn’t turn away from her father, “Always remember, my people: I can make your lives worse at a moment’s notice if you do not obey me.”

She fell to her knees and screamed. She went for the knife and turned towards The Golden Man, ready to be shot.

She felt the gem pulse again the moment she went to attack.

Outwardly she dropped the knife and was ordered to help load the food tribute onto a truck after King Loki decided he did want it.

Inside, she still screamed.


End file.
